New Honda Accord: down in size, up in price

Honda's new ninth-generation Accord will be capable of driving and steering itself for short periods of time when it arrives in Australia on June 2.

Priced between $3300 and $4610 higher than before, from $31,490 plus on-road costs, the new wide-body Accord sedan bucks the 'bigger is better' trend adopted by most new-generation cars, shrinking by 75mm in length.

As such, says Honda, it will no longer duke it out with locally made large cars such as the Holden Commodore, Ford Falcon and Toyota Aurion in a segment that has declined by almost 30 per cent this year.

Instead, the new Thai-built, Japanese-designed vehicle will target mid-size cars like the Mazda6 and Volkswagen Passat – and Honda’s own Accord Euro, which is currently priced from $30,340 plus ORCs.

Australia remains the only major market in which both Honda Accords are sold side-by-side.

Despite the price increases, Honda Australia Director Stephen Collins believes an official sales forecast of at least 300 Accords per month – about the same as the current model achieved in the first three months of 2013 – is conservative.

"I personally think our 300 per month target is modest. I think we can do more than that and we have the supply to do more than that," said Collins, who describes the latest model to wear the 37-year-old Accord nameplate as a “premium sedan without a premium price point”.

Honda says a range of new technology, including LED headlights that better illuminate the road at night and Honda's new advanced driver assist system (ADAS), will increase the car’s appeal.

ADAS incorporates self-steering (lane keep assist), self-braking (collision mitigation braking) and adaptive cruise control to constitute a virtual auto-pilot system that works for short periods of time.

ADAS is standard on the V6L and a $3500 option on the range-topping four-cylinder VTI-L model. Pricing is as follows:

Honda Accord VTi (a) - $31,490 (up $3300)
Honda Accord VTi-S (a) - $33,990 VTi-S (new)
Honda Accord VTi-L (a) - $41,490 (up $4300)
Honda Accord V6L (a) - $51,900 (up $4610)

Entry-level VTi models miss out on ADAS but have a strong standard features list, including 16-inch alloy wheels, LED daytime running lights, a reversing camera with three modes, tyre pressure warning system, dual-zone climate-control, cloth seat trim, a six-speaker stereo with AUX/USB inputs and Bluetooth phone and music streaming.

Safety equipment comprises six airbags, anti-lock brakes and electronic stability/traction control with trailer stability assist.

Stepping up to the new VTi-S variant adds front and rear parking sensors, auto LED headlights, automatic windscreen wipers and Lane Watch Blind Spot monitoring, which takes advantage of small cameras in the wing mirrors that relay video to the driver.

The VTI-S also gets an updated seven-speaker premium stereo with touch-screen, front foglights and 17-inch alloy wheels. Both VTi and VTi-S models come with full-size spare wheels.

The VTi-L makes ADAS available as an option while adding standard features like active cornering headlights, a sunroof, satellite-navigation, leather upholstery, keyless entry and starting, electrically adjustable front seats, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror and 18-inch alloy wheels.

In addition, the burger-with-the-lot Accord V6L offers ADAS as standard, plus an electric rear window sunshade and cylinder deactivation, allowing the V6 to run on just three-cylinders.

Honda expects that 85 per cent of buyers will choose the four-cylinder models.

The two petrol engines in the 2013 Accord comprise an all-new four-cylinder unit producing 129kW/225Nm and a beefier 3.5-litre V6 that cranks out 206kW/339Nm. Despite a seven per cent drop in fuel consumption for both engines, they can be fuelled with standard 91 RON petrol.

The four-cylinder returns fuel consumption figures of between 7.9L/100km and 8.1L/100km and the V6 sucks down 9.2L/100km.

Four-cylinder Accords come with a five-speed automatic transmission and the V6 is hooked up to a six-speed auto.

Honda has sold 100,000 Accords in Australia to date, and more than 19 million globally. For the first four months of this year, 1027 Accords found homes, compared to 6510 Commodores, 3194 Falcons and 1564 Aurions.

Look out for the upcoming full review of Honda’s new Accord ‘medium’.

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